Tufton to liberate auto traders

• Bans on damaged cars, old tyres to be lifted

Marcella Scarlett, Business Reporter

The industry and commerce ministry will be recommending the lifting of the ban on used tyres and the damaged car trade, and will attempt to boost the flagging used-car sector by raising the age limit on imported vehicles.

Jamaica Used Car Dealers Association ( JUCDA) members were buoyed by the news of the latter delivered Monday at its annual general meeting by Minister Dr Christopher Tufton, who maintains his portfolio for industry, investment and commerce under the administration of new Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

The nervousness among dealers about the damaged-car trade was somewhat allayed when it was floated at the meeting by Commissioner of Customs Danville Walker that the business be handled only by licensed car dealers.

That system, if accepted, would replace the free-for-all that existed prior to the ban three years ago. The ban was put in place to clean up the fraudulent system of smuggled and ill-repaired vehicles being passed off on unsuspecting auto buyers. It was a welcome development for car dealers whose sales were being undercut by sellers of the cheaper reconditioned vehicles.

Even with the ban, the soft car market, which has been hit by the recession, has put some dealers out of business. Additionally, the Japanese earthquake in March has disrupted supplies from a major source market.

Hamilton said 11 used-car dealers have closed their doors, some of them permanently, over the past 12 months.

Jamaica currently has about half-million vehicles on its roads. An assessment of how the vehicle population would be affected by the amended policies was not immediately available.

The doubling of the age restriction on imports, from what JUCDA president Lynvalle Hamilton referred to as "the stifling three-year policy" to five and six-year-old vehicles, is seen as a new opportunity to source older cars at cheaper prices, which may be more affordable to struggling consumers.

"We have completed the examination of that and a recommendation is to be made," said Tufton. "The proposal is to increase the age limit on used cars that can be imported ... five years old for cars and six years for commercial vehicles."

The proposals will have to be signed off on by the Cabinet.

Tufton said he stands ready to defend the new position. The age amendment already has the backing of Commissioner of Customs Danville Walker, who has an even more liberal view of the auto business as one that should be driven by market demand.

Walker is proposing that age restrictions be eliminated altogether and that it be left to individuals to determine what age vehicles to buy.

Tufton, meantime, said he was also inclined to reintroduce the damaged-car trade because of its potential for creating jobs.

"There is a role in the society for the damaged-vehicle market," he said.

The minister said Planning Institute of Jamaica data on the repair